


Edge of Reality

by Hailstone2318



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Drinking, Elves, F/F, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, LGBTQ Character, Post-Apocalypse, Vampires, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23252560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hailstone2318/pseuds/Hailstone2318
Summary: It is long after most humans have died from the great plague that ravaged the Earth. Now that they are not being hunted or forced into hiding, the "monsters" are free to live however they wanted. Who says the magical creatures wanted to live uneducated, impractical lives? College student Jesszoe is living his normal Elven life. He and his best friend, Jessica (who is from a different Elven tribe) are navigating through school, now in their sophomore years. Then, when he goes home on a visit home to his family he finds out something that changes his whole life.
Relationships: OC/OC
Kudos: 6





	1. It begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Or barely anyone. Disclaimer that I do not own any of the music or lyrics I make references to in this story.The song I reference in this chapter called Finally is owned by Halsey, not me! I don't want any issues with copyright, so I'm putting this here. Better to be safe than sorry right?

Zoe sat on the edge of the bed, his head tilted downwards at Jessica. His cheeks hurt from smiling. Jessica was sprawled on her back, arms behind her head on the pillow. Her scuffed, black combat boots were still on, hanging off the edge. Even after knowing her for a year, Zoe couldn’t see why she kept her shoes on.  _ I guess it is her apartment, she gets to do what she wants.  _ He had asked her about it before, but only got a sarcastic look and a “It’s my house, who cares” sort of shrug. She sighed and closed her sky blue eyes, the lashes clumped with their normal coating of mascara. Her usually pale skin had a hint of a tan along with the shine and pink of a sunburn. The deep purples and royal blues of her freshly dyed hair looked like ocean waves against a white sand beach. Or at least, that’s what Zoe thought the ocean would look like. Zoe had never been to the ocean before. He had seen pictures, but knew that pictures almost never did a landscape justice. The elf slowly shook her head. 

“You do know that was one of the worst dad jokes in the history of dad jokes right?” She complained with a laugh. 

“ Oh come on! It can't be that bad.” Zoe retorted. He hopped off the bed, walking over to a lamp on a small desk and attempting to turn it on. He fumbled with the tiny dial, cursing when it clicked, but didn't work. 

“Need help with the tiny winey light switch?” Jess teased, smirking at him. Her playful expression shifted her nose ring, making it glint slightly in the fading light of the sunset. An orange, hazy glow filtered through the thin blinds, dimly lighting her face.

“Shut up!” He bent over sideways, trying to get a good look at which way to turn the little knob. Zoe’s cheeks flushed, only partly because of being bent over. With a devilish smile and playfully narrowed eyes, Jessica clapped her hands twice. There was a wail of pain and a flood of light. Zoe staggered back, shaking his head with his eyes closed, momentarily blinded by the clap lamp. He whipped around and glared at Jessica. The culprit had crossed her arms and was trying not to laugh.

“You little-” Zoe's words were lost as he sprung onto the bed, tackling Jess. They wrestled, Jess's lightly tanned arms tangled with Zoe's deep blue ones. They rolled off the bed, landing in a heap of giggles and play fighting. Through the laughter and flailing limbs, Zoe became hyper-aware of his legs intertwined with Jess’s and quickly scooted further away, now leaning against the bed frame, cross-legged. He could see the same heat he felt in his own cheeks on hers and they both smiled. 

“I don't know what I would have done if I had never met you.” Zoe said thoughtfully, glancing over towards Jessica. She smiled down at the carpet, fingers twiddling a piece of it subconsciously. 

“ Yeah, I'm pretty sure my life would be very different if I had never met you either.” Her face darkened a bit, “...completely different.”

The tree elf glanced over at his best friend. She was lost in the past, her eyes were a somehow darker blue, laced with pain. Zoe shifted his weight back and forth, not quite knowing the right way to comfort her. Looking back down, he drew in a breath. 

“I remember the first day we met.” Zoe said softly, “It was Frederickson's class, AP Euro, three days into the first semester.” He laughed cautiously. “You plopped down into the seat next to me, nearly falling out of it. You let out this long, dramatic sigh, steadying yourself. Then you took the lid off your coffee cup, dumped in an entire Monster Energy, and said-,” The two friends spoke in unison, “If I’m going to die, you better come to my funeral.”

“You should have seen your face when I chugged that thing!” Jess cackled, her usual energy coming back, the light back in her eyes. “ I swear you were about to explode! Your eyes got huge and you just sort of sat there making a high pitched whine. The poor dogs within a mile radius must have been clawing their ears out.” 

“Naturally, I was scared out of my mind! I leaned over and whispered, “What the fuck are you doing!? You need a nurse! A hospital! Something!” And I dragged you down to the med bay!” Zoe crossed his arms across his chest, still grinning ear to ear. “I was so afraid for you I ran to the front desk and exclaimed, “This dumbass just chugged a full size coffee with a Monster in it! I only met her like 30 seconds ago, but I can’t let anything happen to her! Please don't let her die!””

“And then that woman at the desk just calmly looked up, like it was any other day in the world and asked in a sandpaper voice that was clearly bored out of her mind, “Single or double shot espresso?” And I said “Single.”” Jess added.

Zoe chuckled fondly. “Then she yawned and snapped her fingers. There was a little ping on the counter, so I looked down. It was a tiny screen with the number 38 displayed on it. The woman said to her colleague, “I just got another one, what's your count?” “52.” the other lady replied. I remember the first lady turned to us and said, “That’s this week’s panicked freshman count, you're fine, just don't have any more caffeine for 2 days.”” He leaned his head back, staring up at the celing, “I felt so damn stupid. This is the big city after all, not some small, closed off forest town with no resources.” Zoe’s face darkened for a moment before putting back on a smile.  _ I don't want to bring down the mood. _ Although Zoe tried to hide it, Jess caught on. 

“Hey Kit, what's wrong?” She asked, her face compassionate but worried. Zoe met her eyes, but couldn’t hold them. He turned his head away, mumbling inaudibly. Even though he trusted Jess, Zoe didn’t want to spill all his family problems and emotional baggage onto her. He had only told her about.. a-about.. ab..a. Zoe bit his lip. He had told her a couple of months ago and didn’t want to ruin either of their evenings. _ Guess it’s too late for that.  _ Zoe thought as he glanced up at Jess’s serius expression. 

“Just some family stuff..” Zoe quietly trailed off. Jessica reached out her arm, her soft hand resting on top of Zoe’s. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Just whenever you're ready.” She said, a small, knowing smile on her face. Zoe closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head back and forth. 

“Not now.. I- I don't want to talk about it right now.” He said quietly. Zoe drew his legs up, his arms wrapping around them, rocking back and forth. Jessica popped her knuckles, an old habit resurfacing with the current mood. She sat back on her heels, calm and reassuring but still fiddling with her hands. Her eyes perked up as an idea came to mind. 

“You know what’s always a good idea? Tea. I'm going to go put on the kettle!” Jess clapped her hands together, jumping to her feet. The room was plunged into darkness as the lamp reacted. Jessica quickly clapped her hands again to turn it back on, but so did Zoe, so there was only a brief flash of light before they were once again in darkness. 

“You turn it on.” Zoe said with a small laugh. So Jess did, the confused light once again doing its job. She strode over to the kitchen counter and took the kettle over to the sink. Jess hummed as she worked, the kettle taking its sweet time to fill up. Zoe heard the rushing water stop and then a click of the gas powered stovetop a few seconds later. Jess’s boots clunked as she came back over and sat down next to him. The scent of her perfume swirled around her, sweet and fruity. It reminded him of a tropical island, even though he had never been to one of those either. 

“So. How was class today?” Jess asked him. Zoe glanced up at her, surprised.  _ She’s not going to ask about earlier? _ Almost as if reading his mind, Jess added, “I said you can tell when you're ready. And you’re clearly not ready.”  _ She knows me so well.  _ Zoe thought with a tiny smile, silently thanking her for not pressuring him like so many others had before. That was one of the reasons he knew he could trust her. 

“It was okay. Just the normal stuff. Bechtel was droning on for nearly the whole block period! Almost 2 hours of her just blabbing about verb tense in some ancient language called spainsh or spanysh or whatever the hell it is.” Jess winced. Everyone knew how Bechtel could get, and this was looking like one of her worse days. “Oh! And Jakob Blem was being the obnoxious jerk he always is.” Zoe growled, narrowing his eyes. 

“What did he do this time? If he hurt you or Kate, or anyone else we know, I'll punch his bloody guts out.” Jessica spat. 

Put lightly, Jake was a touchy topic. In freshman year, he had bullied Jessica’s ex girlfriend, Suzie Whelck. Jess had stood up to him, but he and his friends had ganged up on her one night. It had been 3 against 1. Zoe’s apartment had been nearby, and Jess had called him, asking for a safe place to stay for the night. He had rushed over to where Jess was, helping her back to his apartment and cleaning her up. Jess was a sight for sore eyes the next week or so. Even though her face was splotched with bruises and her nose was patched with surgical tape, she didn’t let it phase her one bit. She wore the cast on her hand with pride, three fingers fractured from fighting back. She had a limp for a while, caused by mending broken toes. But the bullies didn’t make it out unscathed. Jess had broken Jakob’s nose, given him some nice bruises, and managed to fracture his arm with a well aimed kick. The others had similar injuries, but not as bad as Jake. No one messed with her again. Now, she carries around a small, folding knife just in case. 

Unfortunately, things with Suzie didn’t last much longer. She was deeply shaken by the homophobic remarks they had said, and started to have doubts. One night, Jess had come to Zoe’s door, mascara lines down her cheeks, and a broken look in her eyes Zoe thought he’d never see in her. Jessica was so incredibly brave and strong, but there, standing outside his door, she had been shattered. Zoe had pulled her into a hug. They sat on the couch in his apartment, Jess explaining what had happened in between sobs. Suzie had been cheating on her for months at that point. She was going out with one of Jakob’s friends and had been for a while. After everything that they had done, she went out with one of them. Zoe couldn’t imagine what Jessica had been through. Apparently what had ended it all was Jess glancing at a text on Suzie’s phone. Both of them had similar cases and she had picked it up by accident. But it was too late, for she had seen a text from Brandon that said,  _ are we still on for tonight? ;) I’ve been missing you <3 <3\.  _ Worried and suspicious but still not accusatory, Jess had asked Suzie about it. She confessed with a hair flip that she had been seeing Brandon for the last 3 months and that she was “Waiting for the right time to break up with Jess. No hard feelings btw”. They had a huge blow-up fight and Jess had been left outside, on the curb, in the rain with a box of her stuff thrown at her. She had walked over to Zoe’s since all the cabs refused to pick her up. 

“Thankfully, he was just being annoying and bugging some freshmen. I told them to just walk away and let someone know if he harassed them again. Then I got out of there before he could make any hateful remarks.” Zoe told Jess, hoping to calm her down. “Also, what was that song you were humming earlier? I couldn’t quite place it.” 

Jess fidgeted a bit more before answering. She was still riled up about Jake.  _ Why did I bring up Jake! _

“Oh, that was..” She snapped her fingers, searching for the name. “ It’s that new song by Halsey… That siren who made herself a career? I think it's called  _ Finally _ or something like that. It’s quite catchy, gets stuck in my head a lot.” 

“I don’t think I've heard it.” Zoe said. Jess sat for a moment, then started softly singing in response; at first tentative, but then stronger.  _ Beautiful stranger, here you are, in my arms, and I know..  _ Jess sang a bit louder. .. _ That beautiful strangers only come along, to do me wrong, and I ho-ope...  _ Zoe turned to face her. Jessica’s eyes were closed as she became lost in the song. Damn, she had a great voice. It’s a shame she almost never sang anymore. Jess’s singing had dropped off significantly after she started dating Suzie. Now thinking about it, Suzie was an all around bad influence. Not only did she pressure Jess into things she didn’t want to do, she emotionally manipulated her into being insecure about everything. And then to top it all off, Suzie broke poor Jessica into a million pieces that night. ... _ Beautiful stranger, here you are, in my arms, and I think it’s finally, finally, finally, finally, finally safe, for me to fall...  _ Jess got up as the kettle clicked off, the water fully boiled and ready for tea. She continued singing as she got out mugs, filling them with the hot water. Zoe got up and joined her by the counter. She pulled out a cardboard fruit box, filled with smaller boxes of tea. 

“What do ya want? I’ve got blackberry, mint, chamomile, tension tamer, raspberry.. that's it for the herbals. What sounds good?” Jess asked while pulling out a mint tea bag for herself. 

“I’ll have chamomile. Thank you, for everything.” The two then sat at the counter, trading the day’s experiences. It was like a weight had been lifted for both of them. Zoe realized that sometimes all that you need at the end of the day is a nice cup of tea, and a best friend you can count on, and a place to call home. 

...

Jess and Zoe talked for another hour or so while finishing their tea. The two elves then said their goodbyes for the night and Zoe started down the stairs of the apartment complex. He started his car, an old Subaru, and went home. On the drive, he started humming. At first, he couldn’t place it.  _ It’s that song Jess was singing.  _ He couldn’t quite recall the lyrics, but one line stood out to him. 

“Beautiful strangers only come along to do me wrong..” Zoe whispered into the dark. He thought of Suzie.

“She really did, didn’t she.” Zoe quietly said to himself as he opened the door to his apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first story I've actually been successfully writing and that I have a plan for. I don't expect anyone to really read this, it's not from any fandom and I know that Archive of Our Own is for fans and fanfiction specifically not just random stories out of nowhere. But hey! Why not. If anyone reads this, I hope you like it.


	2. A day in the life

The next morning when Zoe woke up, he noticed he was in a better mood than before. In fact, he found himself skipping around the kitchen whistling while he made breakfast. He spun around to grab his bagel out of the toaster when he saw his roommate Kate leaning against the wall smirking at him. She had already brushed her bleach blonde hair and it was tied back in a half ponytail. The thought crossed his mind that he should probably fix his own bedhead. A hand run through it confirmed his suspicion. The light brown mass was extra knotted this morning for some reason, the purple that were usually streaks of highlights stuck out like clumps of huckleberry gum against a class-desk background. 

“I should probably get ready soon.” Zoe said, exasperated that he couldn't eat his bagel peacefully. After all, he has class at 8:45 on the other side of campus. He glanced at his watch.  _ Shit.  _ It was already 7:56 and the elf was still in his pajamas with an unpacked bag and was definitely not ready.  _ No shower this morning.  _ He thought. 

Zoe shoved the bagel in his mouth and ran to his room, Kate’s quiet laughter echoing behind him.  _ She must have had the 9:30 block today, a luxury I don’t have. _ He scanned his tiny, cluttered closet and yanked an old band tee off it’s hanger. After throwing on a pair of ripped jeans and a hoodie, he raced to the small bathroom. The drawer jammed as he hurriedly tried to open it. Eventually, it gave and Zoe lurched backwards with it into the half open door. He winced, arching his back where the door had hit. The disconnected drawer in his hand was filled to the brim with random toiletries, hairbrushes and combs, tubes of toothpaste, all of them almost empty; everything in a jumbled mess. Zoe groaned. It was the fifth time that week. This drawer was going to be the death of him. Zoe wrestled with the little wooden box, jiggling it at the front of the cabinet tracks, willing it to slide into place and make his life easier. 

The troublesome drawer was winning. Sighing, he tossed the box on the laminate floor and yanked his hairbrush out of it. Lots of winces and pulled out hair later, Zoe pulled his shoulder length hair into a hurried ponytail. He spun around, looking at his watch as he rushed out of the bathroom, nearly running into the doorframe in the process. It was 8:07.  _ Not too bad. _

Turning around the corner of the kitchen counter, he grabbed a miscellaneous fruit and his car keys out of a wooden bowl and headed towards the door. Shoving his feet into his converse hi-tops, Zoe zipped up his backpack. He swung it over one shoulder and headed out onto the hallway. He skillfully ran down the stairs, not bothering to pull the other strap onto his shoulder. Half jogging to his car, he unlocked it and slid into the driver’s seat, tossing his bag onto the passenger side. His car, Bumbles, was an old Subaru Forester. She was teal blue and had more than a few dents, but was the first car that was actually his. Zoe had bought Bumbles from a mechanic in the summer before his freshman year. There had been a small bumblebee figurine left in the cupholder that day, and the name had stuck. 

She sputtered to life, blasting dusty air and some song from an alternative station. Zoe turned down both dials and put the car in reverse, backing out of his parking spot in the communal garage. The dusty, old panel on the dash showed it was nearly 8:20. But that clock was 4 minutes fast. He still had some time. Zoe switched the gear back to forwards. Carefully pulling out of the garage and into traffic, merging into the twin lanes of chaos, he began his day like many others. 

Swallowing a bite of now cold bagel, Zoe started his trek across town. The other side of campus wasn’t far, but with this traffic it was going to be a push to make it on time. Horns blared as more college students joined the fray, everyone trying not to be late. Zoe anxiously drummed his fingers on the worn leather steering wheel. He turned up the station, which was now playing an old Katy Perry song. 

It was weird. Before the plague, all magical beings had to stay hidden. The humans were very closed-minded about races other than themselves. If any witch, werewolf, vampire, or what humans called demons showed themselves in public without a disguise (or if a human witnessed any sort of magic) they would panic and resort to their instincts. Kill. All types of supernatural races had to go into hiding, living within human society mostly unnoticed by them. Over in what was called England it wasn’t so bad, but the creatures in what was called America were hit especially hard. What the humans called trials, we call bloodbaths. The Salem massacre, the Garlic age, the persecution of Sirens and Mermaids across seas, even the cross country hunting of lesser known races like wendigos or shape shifters took place. Humans were ruthless killers not only to us, but to themselves. They had wars multiple times a millenia! Humans killed one another for things as small as a stolen farm animal, skin color, or even belief in a God. 

What was really sad was that all these people, about half of them weren't even human. Through drafts, many non-humans were sent in, forced to fight. In the world wars, thousands, millions, countless non-human beings died. Many races went extinct, the only traces of them left found in an occasional human child. Nymphs for instance, they’re gone. Traces of them were left in psychics. During the Salem massacres and similar other ones, they were mistaken for witches and killed even though they were more like fairies in that they could only see events and do charms. Many talented witches survived through complicated spells of preservation, something Nymphs were unfortunately unable to do. 

The commonly found human phrase “You have an angel watching over you.” would be much more concerning if humans actually knew what an angel was. If the celestial being was not in a vessel, no human could look at them without frying their eyes out and dying, so if people had them watching over them there would have been a whole lot less of the human race. Which in the end, wouldn’t have mattered since that plague wiped them out. Well, except a slim few that were somehow immune to the virus. There were now less than a thousand humans left in the world, and most probably weren’t even fully human. They most likely had enough non-human DNA in them that the lethal virus didn’t affect them. They were just carriers. 

The plague had been a virus that american scientists had been messing with. The humans had figured out how to make DNA (or RNA technically) into a virus, and they quickly decided to make it a weapon. The president had been on the verge of another damn war and wanted something to help him win this time. The virus had been bred in only human DNA and made to target humans specifically. The scientists made it so that it couldn’t mutate, and then “accidentally” set it loose in a specified country with no vaccine. This proved to be a problem since there was now no way to stop a human killing pathogen that was quickly spreading around the globe. It was too late for the president to fix his catastrophic mistake. Within a year, it had infected 90 percent of the world’s countries. Although it was awful for the entire race to go extinct in a snap, it freed all magical creatures from their prisons. Now, all elves, fae, sirens, vampires and werewolves alike, along with all other races, could live freely. Society took some time to rebuild, but now things were great. 

A blaring horn jolted Zoe back to the present. Priorities. Food, drive, class. Fluster was going to be pissed if he was tardy again this week. Zoe swore as a red BMW decided to cut him off.  _ Bastard. _ He shoved the last of the bagel into his mouth and navigated through the traffic. He hit another red light.  _ It’s really not my day today is it? _ He thought as he glanced down at the clock on the dash. It was 8:32, already taking into account the 4 minutes.  _ Shit! _ Zoe rested his head on top of the steering wheel (not the horn part of it) and let out a frustrated sigh. The light had still not turned green. 

“Come  _ onnn _ ” he groaned into the leather wheel, staring at the street light above him. “Finally!” Zoe said as the light turned and he sped through the intersection. A block later, He turned onto the building’s street. Sloppily parking in a 2-hour spot, he grabbed his bag and raced up the steps. He had a weird feeling he was forgetting something. Suddenly he stopped and fished out his keys, beeping Bumbles locked. That was it.  _ I nearly forgot again! _ Throwing the huge door open and rushing inside, Zoe froze between an elevator and the stairs. Fluster’s classroom was on the 3rd level. If the elevator was slow, he would be late. If the elevator was fast, he would make it with a couple minutes to spare. The stairs on the other hand were reliable, but would cut it very close. Zoe bit his lip as he made the split second decision. He ran up the stairs, starting off two at a time, but switched to one at a time as his endurance faltered. Propelling himself up the cement blocks worn with years of use, he checked his watch.  _ Shit!  _ Zoe started skipping steps again, already thinking of an excuse for running late. He’d already played the traffic card, and the sick card, and the breakfast card was uneffective.  _ Only one more level to go, then it’s at the end of the hall.  _ Zoe whipped around a corner, crashing into someone. She thankfully kept a hold of her books. 

“Sorry!” They both called after one another, frantically rushing towards opposite ends of the building. Zoe bounded up the last stairs, his legs burning with the sudden onset of exercise.  _ I’ve really got to work out more..  _ He thought as he yanked open the door labeled Level 3 Access and rushed down the hall. 

Zoe quickly slipped in Fluster’s door and sank into his seat at the back unnoticed just as the tardy bell rang. Silently setting his bag down, he glanced at the whiteboard. Looks like today wouldn’t be so bad. Fluster began class as always with one of his terrible puns. 

“Why are obtuse angles depressed?” He asked with his usual exuberance. After a moment, he continued, “Because they’re never right! Just like some of you.” He did this while pointing finger guns at the classroom. Some people thought he was annoying, but Zoe liked his quirky, interactive style of learning. He was a million times better than Bechtel. Turns out, the stuff on the board was for his after-school math club.  _ Oh well.  _ We started off with some complicated factorials that would probably be used in a lesson later on, then listened to him lecture on about geometrical planes and that book he loves called Flatland. He had us read it at the beginning of the year, but the only person (other than Fluster of course) who understood it was this super smart asian kid. The rest of us were drifting around, clueless to why triangles should ever fall in love with circles and why that was a dictatorship. Turns out most of the lessons tie back to that book, but it’ll probably be the end of the year before we all understand how that puzzle fits together. The rest of the lesson was pretty free-floating topic wise. Which was usual. He handed out the homework; a packet of random math related things that somehow all tied together. A minute later, the bell rang and we all filed out the door, heading for our next classes. 

On the way to Carlson’s English class, I took out my phone and earbuds. It was a 20 minute walk and class didn’t start for a half hour. On the way back down the stairs, Zoe realized he should probably move Bumbles so he didn’t get a parking ticket. It was a two hour spot after all. He beeped her open and clambered inside, sliding into the driver’s seat. He still had one earbud hanging out of his ear, no music playing from the phone in his hoodie pocket. Bumbles coughed to life and Zoe merged out into the street. There wasn’t as much traffic as there was before, but it was still busy. He called this time the bean rush; the time between first and second period where everyone needed some sort of caffeine and no one wanted to walk to get it. Humming along to no song in particular, Zoe turned into the nearest 4 hour spot, parking better than he had this morning. 

Making sure to not lock his bag or keys in the car, Zoe beeped it shut and started on his way, putting in his other earbud. He maneuvered through the crowded sidewalk, put on some Nirvana and started towards Carlson’s class. The walk was nice. It was a cooler day, not as sweltering as it had been recently. Zoe closed his eyes and breathed in the clear air. Here in the park between buildings, it almost felt like nature. The city was nice, but he missed his home in the forest with the other tree elves.what Zoe really missed was seeing trees, although the towering buildings gave the impression of something similar. 

The path through the park had been recently refinished, it’s smooth gray stone unscuffed and uncracked. The steady, flat surface felt weird to Zoe, as he had gotten used to the uneven, worn paths and sidewalks in other places in the city. Through the music, he heard a bird whistle nearby, further deepening his sense of calm. His peace couldn’t even be disturbed by the rude cycler that swerved in front of him. Zoe could have driven over to class, but he loved to walk. 

By the time he had gotten close to the English wing, he had made it halfway through the album. Zoe’s watch read 10:23. Class started in seven minutes. Out of nowhere, someone jumped on him from behind. He buckled at the sudden, random weight. Zoe desperately clawed at his attacker’s hands, trying to dislodge them. The attacker’s grip was strong, so he tried another tactic, spinning. Their left hand lost its grip, and Zoe grabbed it, whipping it to the side like Jess had taught him in self defense. Zoe’s right earbud fell out of his pointed ear and he heard laughter. Still freaking out, he fully ripped himself out of the person’s grip and lept away. Now facing the unfamiliar brunette that was doubled over in laughter, Zoe was even more confused as to what had just happened. Then, he felt an annoyed smile spread across his lips as Jessica shapeshifted back to her usual form. Zoe greeted her with a good natured shoulder punch. She softly punched him back, now standing up again. 

Jessica Mory Yorma, his best friend in the whole world, had a frustrating sense of humor. She was about 4 inches taller than him in her 2 inch heeled boots, with her bright blue hair pulled back in a french braid, showing off her earrings. She picked her brown leather knapsack off the ground nearby and slung it over her shoulder. 

“I’ve gotta run, you free for lunch at Rory’s?” She asked, still smiling, while slowly walking backwards.

“Yeah, if you’ve got first lunch.” Zoe replied with a grin. There were two different lunch times, and it depended on which classes you had that day. 

“ Roger that! It’s your turn to pay though, don’t forget!” She called from across the hall before jogging away. Zoe shook his head softly. Jess was one of a kind. Not even the 5 page essay due Friday could lower his mood. It wasn’t everyday he got to have lunch with Jess, in fact their schedules only lined up once every other week or so. Both of them had homework and worked jobs, so there wasn’t much time. Most of their hangouts consisted of studying and snacks in between shifts. Last night was a rare occurrence.  _ And I ruined it. We were having such a good time before I brought up my problems. So many problems.. I- _

“Zoe! Come on! We’re gonna be late, man.” Chad’s voice broke through Zoe’s foggy mind and brought him back to the present. 

“Sorry.” Zoe mumbled, shaking his head and waking into Carlson’s class with Chad on his tail. Slumping into his seat, Zoe forced himself to focus. Thesis, done. Carlson rambling, check. Painstaking research, complete.  _ Now I’ve got an essay to write. Great.  _

By the end of class, he hadn’t gotten much done. A couple of paragraphs sat behind the blinking cursor, but with each pulse it seemed to last longer and longer. Zoe tore his eyes away from the laptop and squinted at the clock in the corner of every classroom. It was so far away, he gave up on trying to read it and looked down at his watch instead.  _ Only 13 more minutes, then I’m free and I get to have lunch with Jess. You can make it.  _ He wasn’t sure he could. Although Carlson was kind and entertaining at times, he scanned the room like a hawk for off task students and phones. He checked his watch. 11 minutes. Zoe felt like banging his head on the cool, wooden desk. He drummed the pads of his fingers on its surface. It was common knowledge that tapping nails instantly put you on a teacher’s bad side. To not be an honors student and have a chance of passing a class, not nail tapping might just save the grade. 

Somehow, Zoe made it through the remainder of the class unscathed. At the miraculous sound of the bell, he bolted out of the classroom and into the fresh air. For the next hour and a half, Zoe was free. 

The flood of students through the halls moved at a constantly changing rate. It was like there were different lanes. Stay to the right if you're talking with friends, more to the left if you’re motivated to get a good spot in line. Then there were the clusters of popular kids that spanned all the way across the hall, blocking everyone, all of them going a drunken snail’s pace. Zoe wished he had Jess’s height and threatening appearance to get them to move. Unfortunately, he didn't and that left him carefully trying to squeeze around them without drawing any attention. Unlike Jessica, Zoe was unimpressive, short (for elf standards), awkward, and didn’t have any powers. Jessica was an Ice-shifter. That meant that she could shapeshift into anything she wanted as long as she was in contact with some sort of water or ice. In a hot, dry climate like this, she always carried a water bottle; not only for drinking, but for shifting too. Even though she could use her power to change her appearance whenever she wanted, Jess chose to stick to her natural form. 

By the time he managed to get to the cafeteria, the lines were a mile long and there wasn’t an open table in sight. Letting out a sigh, Zoe meandered his way over near Rory’s Ramen House line. Thinking he heard someone call his name, he scanned over the many tables, searching for the voice. It was Jess. She had managed to get both a table  _ and _ food in just a few minutes. Zoe’s face lit up and he half skipped, half walked over to her. 

“How’d you manage that, Mors?” Zoe asked as he slid into the seat next to her, dropping off his bag. Her eyes were equally bright, 

“Oh, just a little trick to save my seat while in line.” She said with a mischievous smirk. Then she waved her hand and created a different looking projected version of herself a few feet away, connected to her shoe by a thin trail of water. The fake Jess could move along the trail as long as she was in contact with the water, which now had a glassy, frozen look to it. The now frozen water had been conveniently placed along the Rory’s line, and had gone unnoticed by the other customers who were all on their phones. Both Jess and Zoe snickered, trying to keep from laughing too noticeably at her brilliant plan. The fake Jess, like her other projections, could interact with materials. This was how Jess had kept her spot while standing in line. People had thought the table was taken and didn’t bother her.

“And that’s why I have a water bottle.” She said, still chuckling. 

“You’re so smart!” Zoe said, “I never would have thought of that.” Jess blushed slightly.

“And you still owe me for this.” She replied, gesturing at the two steaming bowls of ramen before them. “I got you your gross seaweed one, I don’t know how you even like that stuff.” She added, half gagging at him. 

“Thanks,” he said, handing over the amount it had cost Jess, “And it's not  _ gross, _ you just haven’t tried it!” She shot a pointed look back at his lame excuse, taking the money. 

“I’ll never try that disgusting, slimy plant.” She retorted, “I can smell it from here.” Zoe ate a piece of seaweed, chewing it at Jess. She glared at him. After swallowing, he blew air in her direction, laughing.

“Ew! Get it away from me!” She complained, leaning away in a desperate attempt to escape the smell. Zoe retreated, leaning back in his chair, some traces of seaweed stench still hanging in the air. Jessica fake gagged again and went back to eating her ramen. The two were so comfortable with each other, finishing the other’s sentences and always playing light hearted pranks on one another. At times, it seemed they were so close they were more than just friends. The two spent lunch trading stories and jokes. Zoe felt the most alive he had in awhile, cheeks flushed and stomach hurting from laughing so much. 

About halfway through the break, Jess got up to go get a smoothie from the McDonalds on the other side of the cafeteria. Zoe watched her go, her long hair and favorite leather jacket swishing in her wake. It was then that Zoe realized that she was wearing the jeans he had given her. They were faded black skinny jeans, with rips in the knees and frays at the ankles. They matched her style so much better. The jeans used to be his, from when he dressed more.. like his.. like he used to. Before he was himself. 

The rest of lunch was just as fun as before. Jess even pranked Lauren Meyers with a fake spider projection. It was great. After lunch was over, he would go back for his two last classes of the day. Then he would be off to work.

Jess and Zoe went their separate ways, Zoe off to Bechtel’s class and Jess off to Martin’s. He hummed a familiar tune as he strode towards where he had parked his car. Today was a good day, and Zoe was confident that neither Bechtel’s class nor the looming shift at the diner tonight could lower his moods. After all, he had just spent an hour with Jess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaand another chapter done! Thank you to those of you who have read what I have written so far. I hope ya liked it. With all this time at home due to school being online, I'll be able to post more. I don't know anything time-frame wise about a schedule or how many chapters I'm planning total, but I'm thinking at least 5 chapters. Maybe more. I don't know when that will happen. Anyway, I might have the next chapter up sometime soon. I've never really put anything up on this platform before so I have no clue what I'm doing. If you are interested in the story, thank you again. Byeee


	3. What Now?

Zoe left his last class of the day with a sigh. Lunch with Jessica had definitely been the highlight. He thought of all the homework he had for Carlson and all the basically useless old language stuff that Bechtel was drilling into their brains. One big problem was that he kept mixing up Spanish and French. He kept accidentally rolling his r’s in French and slurring words in Spanish, mashing them together into what could only be called a mess.  _ Even the word tenses are different, and why does a croissant need a gender? _ Zoe shook his head, exasperated and already tired. He still had a full night of work ahead of him too. Hopefully a Wednesday evening wouldn’t be so bad. It wasn’t a Friday or Saturday after all. 

He swung open his car door, ignoring the blaring horns of ruffled traffic. Climbing in, he tossed his backpack on the passenger’s seat and turned the ignition. By the time he managed to click in his seat belt and slam the door closed, an alarm was beeping angrily at him. Sighing, Zoe reached over and fastened the passenger seat belt over his backpack. The no-seat-belt alarm stopped. It was one of those days when his bag was so heavy with textbooks that the Bumbles thought it was a child in danger of flying through the windshield. The drive was relatively normal. There were occasional snarls as Werewolves got road rage and half changed, random flashes of coloured light as Witches tossed hex bags in through their windows to get them to shut up, a frustrated, Harpy policeman hovering above a busy intersection with a clipboard, marking down license plates of speeding cars. It was the normal chaos that Zoe was attempting to get used to, the chaos that Jessica thrived in. 

Jessica was an Elf from the Atlantic ocean clans. She grew up in the heart of Boston, but frequently traveled around. LA was one of her other favorite cities. Zoe guessed it was because it reminded her a little bit of home. Although he had never been to either, he assumed it was similar to here, Sandcha, just without the water. Zoe himself had grown up in a small town in the heart of the midwest. It was named Sierwson, and was in the center of a large oak forest. Traditions were all that the tribe had, and it was awful. They were a very conservitive tribe called the, wait for it, Sierwsons. I know, very creative. They like to sign alliances with other tribes and clans the old fashioned way, through arranged marriages and shit. Good thing they’ve slowed down on that since there aren’t many old world tribes to make new alliances with. No one wants to be sold off anymore. No one really is. 

Zoe didn’t bother stopping by his apartment on the way to work, there wouldn’t be enough time to do his homework beforehand, and the miles from the extra driving would come out of his much needed paycheck. He pulled into the parking lot of Mickey's Diner. His shift started at 4:15, which gave him a bit of time to get ready. His ponytail had started slipping in the middle of Bechtel’s class and he had taken it out. Taking a brush out of the glove compartment, he straightened out the tangles it had acquired. 

On the way in through the back door of the diner, he tugged it back into place and twirled it into a makeshift bun. Zoe changed into his waiter uniform, a light blue collared shirt with white trim and navy blue slacks. After that, he redid his hair, making the bun actually look nice. Zoe couldn’t decide whether he liked having long hair or not. When he was younger, it had felt like a safety blanket. A place to hide from the world when the world wasn’t kind. It was almost never kind. Traditionally, elven girls would never cut their hair, only the guys could. But the guys didn’t ever cut theirs fully, they always had some part of it long. Many would have it just above their shoulders in the olden days, some even went for afros in the 80’s. But to go unnoticed by humans, many guys cut theirs short like most guys of other races. So that became the norm. The problem was, girls were never allowed anything more than a trim. The toxic, conservative nature of the tribe had stained Zoe’s conscience. All of his life, he had been told the right way to be a girl. He had been forced into many situations that left him sobbing later those nights.

His hair was one of the many things that he had mixed feelings about. On one hand, he liked having it as his emotional support, something he could hide behind, something that he could style how he liked. On the other hand, he hated the constant reminder of who he was supposed to be, and how he  _ had _ to have long hair to be him. It was always there, and it didn’t help him fit in, in fact it did the opposite. And being who he was, a failure who would be killed if his tribe ever found out, Zoe felt like it was one of the things that he owed his family. He couldn’t cut his hair, no matter how much we wanted to. 

The diner wasn’t very full, which was both good and bad. Good for his sanity and energy, bad for his paycheck and the business. Not many people would be here anyway, since it was only a bit after 4, nowhere near dinnertime. Zoe busied himself with washing tables and let his mind wander. It was only a week or so until thanksgiving break, so all his teachers were in crazy mode. Hopefully there wouldn’t be very much homework over break, because it was going to be very chaotic when he-  _ Oh crap! I’m flying home for thanksgiving.  _ Zoe sagged with despair and his washing of the table slowed. He had been looking forward to the break because both he and Jess were free. They were thinking of going on a road trip that weekend. Now that was ruined. Zoe picked up his pace as he saw a customer come in through the corner of his eye. One of the other waitresses hurried over to get them a table. It was a couple, middle aged. They were probably trying to beat the dinner rush. He checked his watch. It was just about 5.  _ Just 2 more hours to go _ . Zoe thought. 

By the time the dinner rush had kicked in, Zoe didn’t have time to think. He was bustling in and out of the kitchen, delivering plates of food and taking orders. It was a good night. Just busy enough to keep him on his toes, but not so busy he was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. Today, he was getting nice sized tips too. Periodically, Zoe would have to stop by the break room and stash away the bills he got. It was a really nice night. But that also meant that by the end of it, he was exhausted. He clocked out at just past 7 and headed towards his car. 

The drive home was uneventful, and on the way up the flights of stairs to his apartment, Zoe thought of Jess. He wished that he could see her again sometime soon. But that probably wasn’t going to happen. That wouldn’t happen. Maybe not ever. Who knows what would happen when he went home. He trudged into his room and face planted on his bed. Zoe stayed like that for a while, wallowing in sleepy misery and silently cursing the world for making his life so damn difficult. 

He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. The only sounds were the hum of the fridge, distant sounds of the city, and his own breathing. The seconds ticked by, growing less and less interesting. Zoe’s eyes shifted sideways towards his backpack resting on the floor. He should really start his english essay. But it was due Friday, so he had a bit of time. And he didn’t have work tomorrow, so there would be extra time there. It was fine. Everything would be fine. 

Zoe hopped up and poured himself a glass of water. As he was sipping it gloomily, a strand of his hair tore itself free from its hair tie and fell in front of his eyes. Angry at the world, Zoe slammed his glass down on the counter top, grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer, and chopped the piece that hung in front of him. 

Immediately he panicked.  _ I can’t cut my hair! That's against the rules! I- I… I just cut a piece of my hair. What have I done??? I  _ Zoe paused. He stared down at the thin chunk of amber brown hair in his hand. It was so long. Zoe ran into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. His eyes were round with shock, and he was wide awake. The strand that he had cut was hanging about 3 inches long in front of his forehead, the length of bangs. It looks so weird! Zoe thought, as he had never seen himself with hair shorter than two feet long. His free hand reached up to feel the chopped off piece. He broke into a smile, no, a grin. It felt good. It felt right. Zoe pulled his hair out of it’s tie and combed his hands through, untangling it. He gripped another piece, then another, and another. Soon, the floor was littered with it. The whole time, Zoe’s smile was spread wide. He was doing it. He was really cutting his hair! With shaky fingers, he reached up and ran his hands through it. It was rough and choppy, but amazing. Zoe jumped up and down, nearly slipping on the floor. It was just as amazing as he dreamed it would be. 

He shook his head, feeling the non-weight of it, the beautiful freedom. He couldn’t stop touching it, poking at it, running his hands through the shortness of it. For the first time in a long time, in fact for the first time in forever, Zoe really felt like him. He ran around the house, loving the way it felt, and almost called Jessica. Suddenly, he stopped.  _ No.  _ Zoee made a checklist in his mind of what to do, starting off with cleaning up the bathroom. He couldn’t leave that for Kate to clean. He grabbed a broom and ran back into the bathroom. After hurriedly sweeping that up and tossing it in the trash can without a second thought, Zoe grabbed his keys, ran out the door (running back and locking it again), down the stairs, and hopped into his Suby. 

The look on Jessica’s face when she opened the door to her apartment was pure gold. It was a mixture of shock and pride that was topped off with a giant grin that matched Zoe’s. 

“You did it!!” She exclaimed, inviting him inside. “How does it feel?”

“OH! It’s amazing! It’s like my head doesn’t weigh anything! And I can shake it and it doesn’t tangle in my face!” He added, demonstrating. “The only thing is that I couldn’t get it an even length, but other than that I LOVE IT!”

“You know what?” Jess said, “I could clean it up for you, I have the clippers I use on myself.” Jessica motioned to her side shave. “If you’d like it, that is.” She added hesitantly. 

“You could do that?!”

“Yeah!” 

“Really?”

“Of course. And anytime you need a trim, just let me know.” Jess said. “Now, just sit over there and I'll be right back.”

Zoe sat down on the bar stool she had motioned to and waited, his knees bouncing relentlessly. A minute later, Jessica came back with the clippers. Zoe’s pulse quickened as the clippers turned on. He fully trusted Jess, but the sound was strange and foreign. At first, the buzz and vibrations of the clippers was unnerving, but over time it became peaceful. Having Jess’s hands gently guiding the clippers through his hair felt natural. He realized that her soft fingers felt very nice in his hair. A bit of heat flushed in his cheeks that he tried to hide. When she had finished evening it out, she combed her hands through the longer, top portion, styling it. 

“There you go!” she said after bending down to kiss his forehead. Zoe’s eyes snapped open, startled, but in a good way. He hadn’t noticed he had closed them in the first place. Jess was then dusting off her hands and putting the clippers back in their case. Zoe’s hands instantly sprang up to his hair. It felt ten times more amazing than before! He grinned so wide it hurt his cheeks and ran across the hall to go look in the mirror in the bathroom. 

His hair was parted on his right, with the top potion longer and swept to the side sort of like bangs. The rest was layered and smooth, fading from about two inches at the longest to a little less than a half inch. There were hints of the purple tapered throughout, giving it depth and color. It was wonderful and freeing and made him feel alive. He started crying. The tears slipped freely from his eyes and he made no attempt to stop or wipe them away. Jessica rushed in behind him, terrified. 

“Are you okay?!” She asked, clamping a hand over her mouth in realization. “Omg you hate it, I’m so so sorry! I- I thought that you would like it. I-” Zoe spun around and hugged her, his arms wrapped tightly around her, holding her close. 

“Thank you.” Zoe said, muffled, into her shoulder. “I love it. I love it so much.” Jessica’s arms wrapped around him, hugging him back. They stayed like that for a while, Zoe’s head in the crook of her shoulder, and her head resting on top of his. When they somewhat pulled apart, Zoe could see that Jess had also cried. He reached out a hand and brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. He didn’t take his hand away. Neither did Jess. Their eyes met, blue on green. Both of their cheeks were tinted, and Zoe could see each tiny freckle on Jess's. Pulses quickened in anticipation. Jess started to lean a bit closer. Zoe inched forward too, his heart beating so fast. Jess’s arm tightened around him a bit, pulling him closer. There were not many inches between them, and that number was decreasing still. The faint smell of Jess's perfume swirled in the air around them. 

Out of nowhere the front door opened and the two of them jumped apart. Zoe stumbled back onto a chair and Jess stood awkwardly against the doorframe as her roommate, Sammy, entered. 

“Sorry I was out late. I was just getting some groceries, I- Oh hi Zoe. You cut your hair! It looks good. I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” She said, glancing between them. 

“N-No, You uh, didn’t!” Jessica said hurriedly, turning bright red. 

“Definitely not!” Zoe stammered, also bright red. “I’ll be going now!” and rushed out the door past her.  _ Oh my god. I nearly kissed Jessica! Where the hell did that come from?! What was I thinking?  _ Zoe managed to get in his car and started to drive home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAA I really don't have an excuse for not updating other than writers block and homework. Which, isn't much of excuse. Oh well. I finally had inspiration, so here we are. Idk what else to put here, so I guess if you are actually reading this and enjoy following the story so far, look forward to more?


	4. A Mistake

Zoe stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. He was messing with his hair, trying to get it to look how Jessica had styled it that night. Zoe decided that the heat in his face was from having his arms above his head. That was  _ totally _ why. He set his mouth in a tight line and furiously shook the hairspray can. He pressed the top and it practically exploded in his face. Coughing and swatting the air, he ran his fingers through his hair a final time and set off to find something to eat. 

While roaming around the tiny corner known as the kitchen, Zoe opened his phone and started to scroll through Instagram. He immediately clicked it off in a panic when he saw what Jess had posted. It was a selfie of her outfit. She was wearing a pair of camo green cargo pants that fit her just right with a stylish belt and a cropped black tank top that showed just a hint of her swirling tattoo underneath. She was also sporting her classic hairstyle and boots that basically lived on her feet. The sound of the toaster popping nearly scared Zoe out of his skin. He realized his heart was pounding and tried to slow it back down again, failing miserably.  _ She’s my best friend! No. This isn’t supposed to be happening. What will she think! There’s no way I like her. I mean- NO! I- I DON’T LIKE HER. That's crazy. We’re best friends, that's all.  _ A smaller voice popped up into his head, quiet as a mouse but deafening.  _ Then what was that three nights ago?  _ Zoe closed his eyes.  _ Shut up. Even if I did kind of like her, I-  _ The other voice screeched back.  _ I KNEW IT!!  _ Now the original voice was fading into the background. It was pleading and battling with the other one but getting smaller with each passing moment inside his head. 

Zoe slammed his phone face down on the counter, startling him out of his own mind. He surprised himself, and hurriedly checked to make sure it’s screen was okay. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. It was fine. He was fine. Everything was going to be fine. He stabbed the knife into the jelly jar and spread some on his slightly burnt toast. Unconsciously, he found himself checking his phone for a message from Jess. It was a habit really. It wasn’t normal to go three days without a word between them.  _ Oh god. I’ve ruined everything. I should have known better. She hates me! It’s official. My best friend in the whole world hates me.  _ Zoe laughed. It was a low laugh, a tired and pain filled laugh. It was closer to a choke with sound than anything else. He took a bite of his toast and packed his bag. 

“The drama queen finally rolls out of bed.” Kate says, clapping slowly. 

“You’re the one to talk.” Zoe huffed back at her through a mouth full of toast. Kate was the most dramatic person he had  _ ever _ known. And that was saying something. He unlocked the door and was stepping outside when she called back to him. 

“Forgetting something?” Zoe turned on his heel, glaring at her and holding out his hand. She tossed him his keys, he caught them, and stormed out of the apartment. 

By the time it was 4th period, he was in a better mood. So far, he was completely caught up on his homework. No stress there. When he had first cut his hair, most everyone seemed shocked. People that actually knew him, and that was only a couple people, had suspected him of being trans before. They high fived him, but as always avoided saying things that included pronouns due to confusion and awkwardness. Since Zoe had not outed himself openly to people, and didn’t plan on it, he didn’t have a lot of friends. The girls he was friends with other than Kate and Jess probably didn’t know, and neither did most of his guy friends. 

It just didn’t come up in conversation, and Zoe wasn’t comfortable talking about his identity anyway. His family had made sure to pump him full of self hatred and loathing all his childhood life. Of course, they didn’t know about him being a guy. He could never let them. They always assumed he was a girl. How he grew up was very conservative. Not the nice sort of conservative that some tribes are. No. The kind of conservative that teaches that girls are supposed to fit perfectly into their gender roles, keep their heads high, the only thing they are useful for is being sold as bargaining chips, don’t shed a tear, flirt for their lives, hate people of other beliefs, punish any misstep, and oh yeah, kill traitors. Their definition of traitor is very different too. Apparently if someone is anything but straight, goes against an alliance, talks back or attacks a person of power, gets an abortion, cheats, or anything else of that level or higher they are a traitor. If they manage to escape before their trial, they get to be in exile for the rest of their lives, always on the run all while having a price on their head. There are three ways that the Sierwson elves keep their economy alive. One is agriculture, one is arranged marriages with other tribes, and one is earnings from wanted posters. 

The only reason that Zoe was allowed to leave that poisonous place and go to college was that he claimed that it was a great place to find someone to marry. Marriage was the one way to climb the social ladder, and they saw Zoe as the perfect opportunity.  _ Great, just great _ . He got a scholarship with years of back breaking work in class. Since his family was so broke they could barely afford his phone, the only way for him to make it out was to get outstanding grades. And so he did. He worked full time night shifts at a restaurant to pay for Bumbles and kept busy with school. 

Zoe downed the last of his Cup of Noodles and started to walk over to the library. It was near his 5th period class and was a very nice spot. He had work that night, and with everyone antsy about break it would be utter chaos. He would enjoy every second of peace and quiet he could get. 

…

Jessica whipped out her phone for the millionth time that day. She didn’t even know why she expected a word from Zoe.  _ It wasn’t like he did anything wrong. It was all my fault! _ He had every right to be mad at her. She anxiously paced back and forth, waiting for the crosswalk to hurry up and turn. When it finally switched from red to white, she turned on her heel and started to cross. After flipping off some jackass that decided it was not in fact her time to cross, she continued on her way. 

She reached into her backpack and pulled out her helmet. Just like her motorbike, the helmet was jet black with hints of red and gold. Jessica slid the hemet over her head and swung a leg over the bike. It’s smooth leather seat was still warm from the sun. Jessica pulled on her riding gloves with a practiced motion and checked the fuel gauge. It was a little past half a tank. Gripping the handlebars, she looked in the mirrors and checked for traffic. It was clear enough, so she revved the engine and sped off into the fray. Jessica didn’t allow her mind to wander. She kept her eyes trained on the road in front of her, the pavement a familiar rumble under her. Jess was stopped at another damn traffic light that was taking forever. She craned her head trying to see why, and sat back with a sigh when she realized what it was. There was a full on road rage battle between a sports car full of witches and a jacked up pickup truck full of howling werewolves. It seemed they were having some sort of fight about who knows what, but it looked like one of the witches had started it. She laughed. Zoe had told her about a very similar thing happening a few days ago. Looks like that dispute hadn't quite been finished.  _ This is going to be a while.. _

Eventually, the traffic got moving again after a few police nymphs got things back under control. Jessica restarted her engine and started on her way again. She was riding past a street a few blocks down when an image of Zoe’s beautiful face crept back into her mind. Jess shook her head, almost dislodging her thoughts, although the whisper remained. After all, Zoe’s apartment was right around the corner.  _ He doesn’t like you! Just get over it already.  _ Jessica’s grip tightened and she revved the bike, willing it to go faster. She forced the heat from her face, her eyes pinned back on the road. The black pavement raced below her as she sped faster and faster towards her own apartment. She slowed back down to the speed limit as she neared a spot that was heavily patrolled this time of day. She did not need a ticket today. 

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. Jess avoided the normal potholes and spreads of gravel that could throw her, and pulled into her parking spot beneath her place. Jessica’s apartment was on the second floor, facing the street. The apartment complex was less of a cluster and more of a sprinkling of rented out flats near a busy street. It was all owned by the same company and was often rented out to college students, but unlike Zoe’s set of dorms, there were people from other backgrounds around. Zoe’s dorms weren't strict about it, but they were in two sort of separate spots for guys and gals. Since he had only come out to a couple of people, and not very long ago, Zoe was still in the girls section of the dorms. 

_ I wish he was happy. I- Zoe deserves so much better. He hasn’t told me a whole lot about his family and tribe, but I know enough to piece together what they are like. I can’t even imagine! Poor Kit, to grow up with your whole world hating you, for you to hate yourself every hour of every day and make it out alive? He’s the strongest person I’ve ever known. And even the haircut-  _ Jess sucked in a breath, remembering that night.  _ I thought... I thought I had ruined your life. I thought that I thought I was helping you, but that you were so hurt by what I had done, that I had taken part of yourself away from you. I was putting away the clippers in the closet when I heard you choke out a sob. Up until that moment, I had thought everything was fine. I was so scared! And then you turned around with a tear streaked grin, and hugged me.  _ Jess grabbed the strap of her bag tighter as she walked up the stairs. She was so distracted she tripped and landed hard on the stairs, nearly falling down them. The impact jarred her out of her thoughts and back to the world at hand.  _ Jeez Jess, since when are you this clumsy? You’re an elf for god’s sake, aren’t you like, nimble or something?  _

With a barked out laugh, Jess semi-gracefully hopped back to her feet and carried on her way. She unlocked the door to her place, closed it behind her, and face planted onto the couch with a groan, not even bothering to take off her bag, gloves, or even helmet. 

…

Zoe pulled into the parking lot with a drawn out sigh. The diner was already getting full, and it was only 5:30. Tonight was going to be a very long night. He reached back to pull his hair up into it’s usual bun when he remembered.  _ I don’t have to worry about that anymore!  _ He smiled and walked in the back door. Susan, one of the head waitresses, was there to greet him. 

“Heya Zoe! We’re gonna need your help real soon out there, so don’t lollygag any more than ya need to.” She called out after him in her more than slight southern accent. She had been in the more northern parts for a while now, but had kept most of her accent. Here in Sandcha, people came from all over, so he was used to people sounding different. Jess had a very slight east coast accent, making her sound almost Canadian, even though she wasn’t. Some countries changed names after the plague, but almost all the Canadians loved being Canadians, so they didn't change it.  _ Jess. Lovely, sweet, amazing Jess. Goddammit! She hasn’t texted you, she hasn’t called you, you obviously crossed the line and now she’s pissed!  _

“She dosen’t like you!” Zoe hissed into the empty air. He quickly got ready for his shift and stormed out of the back room. 15 minutes later, he was already busy clearing tables and delivering food, problems pushed to the back of his mind. Unknown to him, a text had come in on his phone, as had another missed call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I have no excuses for not posting. Here's the chapter, I hope you like it. Thanks again to the few people actually reading this. If you have stuck around to see what happens, thank you, the fun is just beginning!


	5. The Diner

Jessica threw her phone down in frustration. Zoe wasn’t answering his damn phone! She had already called him. Four bloody times, and he didn’t pick up. There wasn’t a reasonable explanation in her mind why he would be active on his phone up until the minute she called, just to ignore her. _It’s stupid! I’m stupid! He doesn’t care about you. In fact, he’s probably flirting with some chick hanging off his arm, getting the biggest tip of his life!_ Jess took another swig from the bottle. She winced from the bitter taste of the beer, and the edges of her vision looked a bit weird. She flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. _You know what? I don’t have to listen to shit! I can just.. I just really like him. I mean I like him like a friend but like not ya know? No? NoOoo I’m not drunk, Karen, you’re drunk. Don’t tell me what to do Karen!_ She laughed. There was no Karen there of course, only the idea of Karen she got off Tumblr and memes. No, she wasn’t quite drunk, but she was close. Very, very close.

Jess half fell off the bed and staggered over to her closet. She didn’t remember where she was going yet, but she knew she was going somewhere. Her fumbling fingers scanned over possible outfits, landing on a sleek black dress that was great for parties. Jess smiled. An idea was forming in her head; first slowly, but then faster. She knew one thing. She was going to need to be a bit more sober for this. Jess ungracefully made her way towards the bathroom. Once inside, she threw open the mirror cabinet and scanned over the little bottles, searching for the right one. When she found it, Jess popped the last one of the magical pills into her mouth. These things were great. They were made by Fairies and had some sort of weird plant in them that sucked alcohol out of the person’s system. It just absorbed a bit of it, taking someone from _almost_ drunk to barely buzzed. Granted, they weren’t the best for your health, but on occasion it was fine. She wished she had one more of them for a future safety net, but for her plan to work, Jess needed this one. 

Once it took effect, she was sober enough to feel stable in her own skin and walk normally. There was no more fuzz around her vision, and her senses were back to a more normal level. She closed the bathroom mirror and fixed her makeup, smoothing out the eyeshadow and reapplying her lipstick. Holding her breath, Jess spritzed herself with a tiny bit more perfume to mask the scent of the alcohol. If she was going for a ride, she needed to be convincingly not buzzed. Jess did not want a ticket. She fixed her hair a bit and winked at her reflection as she strolled out and grabbed her helmet and gloves. She frowned slightly, realizing the helmet would mess up some of the styling she had done. Shrugging, Jessica pulled it over her head and skipped down the hall towards the stairs. As she swung a leg over her motorbike, she hit send on a text and shoved the phone in her pocket with a zipper. 

…

Saturdays were the second to worst nights for working at the diner. They were pretty bad, as there were usually the most fights, overly flirty customers, and a huge amount of food to serve. But that wasn’t anything compared to Friday. Zoe tried to get as many Fridays off as he could, and Susan helped him with it. Things were probably 10 times worse than they were on Saturdays and there were a lot more drunk people. It was also hard to not snap at any customers on Fridays due to already having a long week and not having any time to recover yet. But tonight was no ordinary Saturday. No, today was the Saturday before Thanksgiving break and everyone was crazier than on Fridays. Today, everyone decided to come to the diner to party, and most of them were already drunk and being stupid. 

There was only one good thing about flirty drunk customers, and that was the tips. Although he hated the flirting itself, it did help him get by. Table after table left bills under the leather folders, each a pretty good amount. There were even a couple nights where Susan had taught Zoe how to tend the bar and mix drinks. The sheer number of tips he had gotten from customers those nights had paid for the next week’s lunches! But tonight, he was staying away from the bar if he could help it. He just knew it would be a bad time to be that close to the drunks and not be able to escape into the back kitchen like he did while serving. The loud music was only somewhat audible over all the people, which wasn’t surprising, but it was impressive. Zoe rounded the corner with an armful of plates that needed cleaning, and fast. The kitchen was churning out food like nobody’s business, and they needed more clean plates for new customers in a hurry. 

Out of nowhere, Zoe crashed to the ground, the wind knocked out of him as he landed hard on the floor. All around him were the shattered remnants of broken dishes. 

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry!” said a voice above him to his left. Zoe rolled over slightly, groaning. _What the fuck? Where did this bitch come from?_ He winced as a shard of some ceramic plate cut his hand. Zoe shook his head, trying to figure out how he had gone from walking into the back kitchen to on his back, laying in a minefield of shattered plates in only half a second. As he blinked up at the person who had run into him, he realized why the voice sounded familiar. 

“JESS?!” 

“I’m sorry, I was just trying to find you because I knew you were working tonight and all the tables were full and I didn’t see you anywhere so I asked the older southern lady where you might be and she said to try the kitchen, so here I am and again I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you or knock you over or-”

“Wait wait wait, you were looking for me? Why? I thought you were mad because, because.. You know.” Zoe said, his ears turning red, and his shoulders curling inwards. “I’m sorry Jess, I should have texted you or called you, something! I- I was just so afraid.” 

“Afraid of what?” Jess asked, still standing over him looking genuinely confused. Both of them had forgotten about the plates entirely. Zoe curled into a ball even more. _There’s no way she understands or feels the same way._

“You've been drinking.” Zoe said, avoiding the question and slightly unfolding. “How can I know anything that comes out of your mouth right now is true when we both know what alcohol does to you. 

“Kit-”Jessica protested, hurt blossoming all over her face. Zoe’s eyes caught on part of a black leather glove in her hand. He narrowed his eyes and stood up, the long forgotten plates crunching underfoot. 

“No. What were you thinking?! You rode over?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is! You could have been hurt! You could have been thrown in jail! You could have been killed, Jess!!” Zoe’s voice shook with emotion. Jessica opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out and she closed it again. 

“And all that,” Zoe continued, “just so you could come here, stalk me while I’m in the middle of a shift, run into me, and break all this?” he yelled, throwing his arms up to gesture all around him. 

“I just wanted to see you!” Jess yelled back. 

“Oh? You wanted to see me? Why? So you can act like you weren't ghosting me and say that what nearly happened three nights ago meant nothing? So my best friend in the whole world can be stupid and ride over here while drunk off her ass to tell me something she doesn’t mean? So I can lose the trust of the only person I’ve ever cared about this way? So go ahead, rip my heart out and shatter it like these fucking plates because there’s no way for me to know that you feel anything real right now, no matter what you say!”

“Fine. Have it your way. And don’t bother to check your fucking phone.” Jessica said, quietly and cold. Zoe watched his best friend wipe a tear from her eye, turn on her heal, and slam the back door of the diner in her wake. Then he slid down against the wall and sobbed.

…

As much as Jessica wanted to get as far away from the diner as possible, she was in no state to be riding her bike. After storming out the back door, barely holding it together, she cracked. Jessica barely made it ten feet before collapsing into the sobs. _So much for clearing things up and telling him about your fucking feelings. Well Jess, I guess that was the proof you needed. He doesn’t like you. Not one bit. He doesn’t want you as anything more than a friend. Not like you want him. It’ll never work. You might as well cancel the wonderful trip you were planning for break, cause he won’t want to go. Hell, he’s probably deleting and blocking your number right now. He’s going to pick different seats in class and avoid you during lunch. He won’t talk to you. He won’t even look at you. Jesszoe Kit Reid hates your fucking guts._ She sniffled. Another voice in her head popped up. _Well, you know what's worse than him not giving a shit? Him caring about you, but not the same way. He wants you to be safe, but doesn’t trust you. He only loves you as a friend._ After a seemingly endless amount of time, Jessica hauled herself off the ground and rode home. She didn’t even make it up all the stairs to her apartment, and slept on one of the landings, curled in a ball around her helmet.

…

Zoe spent the rest of his shift cleaning up the shattered dishes with a tear streaked face and endless thoughts of Jessica. He was positive she hated him even more now. As he was packing up his stuff and leaving, he remembered what Jess had said about his phone. He checked it anyway. There was one text and four missed calls, the last three had voicemails along with them. Zoe clicked on the oldest one. 

“ _Heya Kit. I know I’ve been awful, and I should have texted you. I really should have. I know your shift doesn’t start quite yet, so if you see this, please call me back. Thanks.”_

He clicked on the next one.

“ _Zoe. *sigh* Please just give me a chance to explain everything. What happened three nights ago was my fault. I never should have tried to kiss you. I feel really bad. You’ve been ignoring me, and I’ve been ignoring you. I- I’m sorry. I need to tell you something, but I want to tell you in person or even on a call, not a text. Just, please call me back okay. It’s important.”_

Zoe clicked on the last voicemail. 

“Goddammit Kit! I know you’re there! Please! You were active on your phone a minute ago! This really isn’t something I can say without you talking to me. Fine. I guess I’ll just have to come to you. Just give me a chance, I need you.”

Zoe’s brain was racing, trying to keep up with what she was saying. He clicked on the text, read it, and closed his eyes. It read, “I’m coming to the diner! Hopefully Susan will let you take a break, because I really need to talk to you. I’m guessing you haven’t heard my voicemails, so here goes nothing. We need to talk about what happened three nights ago, it was probably a misunderstanding on my part, and for that I am sorry. I never meant to hurt your feelings. If you’re mad at me, I understand, but I need to tell you something. Something about me, and us. Just let me explain, because you don’t know my side of the story yet and I don’t know yours. I’ll see you soon.” Zoe had a lot of information to process, even without the full story. But that was for future Zoe, this exhausted and emotionally drained Zoe needed sleep and time. So he went home, climbed into bed, and fell asleep instantly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhhhhh, It's uh, it's been two months. Sorry. I've been doing other stuff lately and haven't had inspiration for a while. Speaking of other things, I was moving a ladder yesterday, and I had accidentally left a hammer on top of it. It only fell a foot at most before whacking me in the face, so that's the good thing. It didn't have time to gain much force. My glasses didn't break, and I probably don't have a concussion, but the almost two inch diameter welt isn't going away anytime soon. It hasn't started to show the purples of bruising yet, but that'll probably come in the next couple days. I'll be fine, but you'll probably hear more about it in the next chapter's notes that I'm hopefully posting within a few days. Most of the chapter is already written, I just need to edit it so it still makes sense.


	6. Time Capsule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for another disclaimer! I do not own any songs, places, or businesses I make references to. I certainly don't own the song Don't Stop Me Now, Queen does. I do not own Starbucks or any of their drinks. Better safe than sorry! Also, I myself am not transgender, I do not know exactly what trans people go though, I do not mean to invalidate what they go though, but what I write is based off my own experiences and what I might do if were in some of Zoe's situations. What I write is genuine and based on experience, homophobic/transphobic stuff I've seen, people's stories and rants, dysphoria of my own, the hate in the world, being afraid of being myself, hating the way I look, feeling not myself, and being forced to stay in the closet by people's opinions. If I misrepresent anything, please kindly let me know, I don't want to invalidate anyone, but I also didn't want to change part of my character because I might not fully understand other people's situations. Sorry for the long note, here's the chapter.

Zoe’s senses slowly came back into focus as he was pulled from sleep. Sunlight filtered through the little window at an angle that couldn’t be anywhere near early. He groaned as he spotted the time blinking up at him from my alarm clock on the bedside table. It was 11:36 AM, Tuesday November 21st. The first day of Thanksgiving break. Things between him and Jessica hadn’t really changed much over the last few days. Each day, it was harder. Harder because he knew the longer he waited, the worse it would be and the more strain it would put on their relationship.  _ If you can even call it that anymore. _ Harder because each day she didn’t text or call or even look at him, reality began to sink in more and more. The reality that the only person he ever loved hated him. That he had lost the best friend he had ever had, no, not just a best friend. He had been doing a lot of thinking, and reading things online.  _ I know it sounds childish and made up, but when I had heard people describe soulmates, it felt like this.  _ Zoe had had crushes in the past, liked people, but never like this. He had never cared more about a single person in his whole life, and now she couldn’t even look in his direction. One of the worst things was that in the very back corner of his mind, almost subconsciously, he felt like she liked him too. That Jessica might just feel the same way. But Zoe never let that thought come towards the front of his mind because he knew if he ever gave himself that sliver of hope, it would end up crushing what was left of his broken heart. 

Zoe flopped back down and sank deeper into the warm blankets surrounding him, refusing to acknowledge the fact that it was in fact nearly noon and he should probably get up. He pulled the blanket up and over his head, sealing himself in its cocoon. That's when it hit him.  _ I’m going home for Thanksgiving _ . Zoe’s guttural uuuuuuuugghhhhhh must have been obnoxious enough to match his emotions because Kate came in to see what had happened. He emerged from his cave of softness and sat cross legged on the blankets, blowing a strand of hair from his face; which was still tight with annoyance. Now, not only was Zoe nearly grieving for Jess, he had to go back there.

“Is sleeping beauty not in paradise?” She asked, one hand on her hip and the other holding her avocado toast. Her bleach blonde hair was tied up in a top knot, the roots beginning to turn back to their natural brown as it grew out. “So, what’s up ZoZo? Did you check your grades on the AP history test? I checked mine and huoo,” Kate widened her eyes and took a bite of her toast, “I made a similar sound.” 

Zoe sighed dramatically. He hadn’t told anyone about the fight that night, and his “friends” seemed to be avoiding all mentions of Jess. “No, it's not that, though I probably should check. I just remembered that I have to go home. I have to go back to that hellhole for a week! A week I tell you!” Kate winced. “They don’t understand me, they are obsessed with their stupid traditions, and all of my aunts will find me and corner me and ask me who my latest love interest is! They’re all insane! All of them!”

Zoe fell back on the covers, dreading what was coming the next day. Tomorrow, he would be getting on a flight back to Sierwson, the other side of the country. The very place he tried to escape from last year when he moved away for college.  _ Not only am I going to be stuck on a damn plane for six hours, I will be using today, my singular day of freedom to pack a suitcase and drive four hours to the airport before staying in a crappy air-side hotel. There was no way I am going to get any sleep either with my elven ears near the planes taking off all night long.  _ Zoe instinctively opened his phone to rant to Jess about the issue, but remembered and threw down his phone, faceplanting back into the covers. 

Kate left shortly after to go meet her boyfriend, Greg, for coffee and lunch. Zoe finally got dressed in comfortable clothes that weren't pajamas and started the dreaded task of packing. He let out a long sigh and opened the doors to his closet. 

“Time to go back in.” he said with a chuckle, his face turned downward, dark with emotion. Zoe’s small suitcase soon filled with clothes he didn’t recognize as his own. They belonged to a different person, a different Zoe.  _ I can’t do this.  _ He told himself,  _ I can’t go back to that other me, because that was  _ **_never_ ** _ me. He would never have wanted this, after I’ve come so far… Going back now could be suicide.  _ Over the last two years, he had really been able to express who he really was. College in many ways, had made him who he was meant to be. Zoe smiled sorrowfully at the dress crumpled in his hands. Many would say it is beautiful, hell, many had. He ran his thumb along one of its seams, the coral coloured lace catching on a hangnail. He carefully tugged it free and stared at the fabric that caused him so much pain.  _ It’s funny _ , He thought.  _ That something so simple can hold so much weight. _ That the small, pink threads could impose so much. Zoe didn’t realise he was crying until he saw a droplet land on the dress, resting on its surface before seeping in. Hurriedly, he tossed the dress towards the suitcase, missing, and swiped the tears from his eyes, fanning his face with his hands.  _ God, I’m a mess. What a great way to start the first day of break, crying when I should be on the road already.  _ He walked into the bathroom and stood, hands on the edge of the sink, staring at his ragged form. Zoe’s light brown hair was tangled, with awful bedhead, even though it was short. His cheeks were puffy and the skin around his eyes had turned from their normal indigo blue to more of a purpleish. His eyes were bloodshot and in addition to the redness and dark circles turning his eyes to sockets, his acne decided right now was an  _ awesome _ time to come back. 

Zoe stared down at his hands. They were pale from clenching the porcelain, littered with scrapes and shaking uncontrollably. The black nail polish Jessica had put on was messy and chipped, nearly a week old, almost gone due to his nervous chewing.  _ I really have to stop doing that. Both thinking about her constantly and chewing my nails.  _ Something on the other side of the room had caught his eye. It was a small bottle of perfume, coated with way too much dust. On the side, in feminine cursive it spelled ‘Lancome La Vie Est Belle”. 

Instantly, he was thrown back into a sour toned memory. It was his junior year in high school, Christmas morning. Orbs were floating in the air, lighting up the branches of his home, a small cabin of sorts set deep in an old oak tree. Gifts were stacked under the new sapling, some of them already uncovered from their blanket spell, the gift itself visible. His relatives sat around him, some of them holding uncovered presents from loved ones, their faces lit up with excitement; excitement that he for one didn’t share. In his tribe of tree elves, gender roles are very strict. Social standards must be met at all times, or the all knowing one would punish us all. That meant that gifts were very conservatively stereotypical. All the girls would get strictly feminine things and all the boys would get strictly masculine things. This would always make Zoe feel out of place, like there was always this perfect version of a 17 year old girl that he had to be at all times. It was then when Aunt Carol handed him a blinded gift with a shimmering silver tag on it. In her tight cursive, it read “Merry Christmas to my sweet little Jesszoe! Love from Auntie, p.s. Boys will come running to ya soon. Winky face emoji, kissy face emoji.” 

Auntie smiled at him and winked, urging him to open it. Zoe deactivated the blinding spell and it uncovered a small bottle of perfume. His stomach twisted. _It’s bad enough walking around in clothes that don’t suit me, now this?_ _But it was very gracious of her, we don’t have much money. At least that’s what Mother said._ So he thanked her, put up his polished acting face, and pretended to be happy. The next day, Mother took them out to the mall so that he and his female cousins could go and, “See what fish were in the sea today, waiting to be caught.” Zoe hated their trips to the mall, this one was his first of many. _No_.

Zoe shut his eyes tight and forced himself out of the memory, back to the reality of his dimly lit bathroom on the 3rd story of a college dorm. He shuddered and his hand slipped off the counter, whacking the sharp knob of a cupboard handle below the counter top. Zoe hissed and shook out his hand, wincing slightly at the minor injury that seems to be a common occurrence nowadays. It left a small dent, soon to blossom into a bruise. He pointedly turned away from the cursed perfume bottle and headed back into his room. The suitcase lay open on the floor, the dress flung over its edge. He stopped and picked it up, folding the fabric carefully and tucking it unto the bag. The next 45 minutes were spent collecting needed items, and putting back items that couldn’t possibly go to his home. The things re-entered cabinets and drawers; things like baseball caps and brightly colored bracelets and boxers. Things like masculine outfits and basketball shorts and… Zoe held a piece of thick fabric the same as his skin tone. He closed his eyes, vision blurring as he tucked it at the bottom of his drawer. There was no way his binder was ever going to be allowed there. 

Hot tears forced their way out of his unwilling eyes and down his flushed cheeks as Zoe unpacked boxes of old, tortuous outfits. Mini skirts and heels, fishnet tights and hot pink bows haunted his vision, as if forcing him into the memories, but for real this time. It was as if he was actually teleporting through time and being locked in a cage of his old, slutty life. Zoe stumbled back into the bathroom, opening the drawer to get his toothbrush and such when it hit him. _ If I don’t put up a good enough act to fool my entire family, I could be killed. The tribe acts in the all knowing one’s name, punishing anyone who disobeys. _ That meant him. He drew in a shuddering breath and tried to think of a single good thing about this fast approaching trip. Nothing would come. Even the road trip Jess had mentioned once during lunch a week ago wasn’t going to happen. 

Zoe ran through a checklist in his head of all the things he needed for the trip, having to remind himself of banned items so his cover wouldn’t be blown immediately.  _ Phone? Check. Phone charger? Check. Toiletries? Check. Tops? Check. Bottoms? Check. Socks? Check. Underwear? Check. Earbuds? Check. Keys? Check. I think I’m ready. _ On the way out, he snagged a banana off the counter and peeled it as he climbed in his car and turned the key in the ignition. Bumbles sputtered to life and he turned on the radio, tuning it to a station playing classic rock. Queen greeted him and he started to feel slightly better as he pulled out of the driveway and headed off down the street, jamming along. Zoe drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and for the first time in a long time, he finally felt like it was thanksgiving break. 

Zoe pulled into a Starbucks, stopping to get a drink for the road. He ordered a grande latte with 2 shots of espresso, a shot of good luck from the barista fairy, and a caramel drizzle on top. Jess had introduced him to the drink, and now he couldn’t get enough of them. He ignored the “Caution: Hot” warning, the liquid burning his tongue as usual. Zoe passed by a swath of buildings and homes, making his way out onto the highway. There wasn’t much traffic, as the lunch rush was over and since the town was empty due to fleeing college students. As he passed the ‘Leaving Sandcha, Come again!’ sign, he blew a kiss out the window and told himself  _ I'll be back soon. I promise _ . Soon enough, Zoe fell into rhythm with the vibrations of the road, the radio playing the best classics; his left arm growing cool from the wind rushing around it. He took a deep breath in and let it out peacefully. Driving along the countryside was one of his favorite things. It took his mind off things. The winding black asphalt and whistling wind had the amazing ability to strip your worries away, almost like they could fly out the window and leave you with a feeling of complete and utter calm. The sun shone down, warming his skin where the wind had cooled it, balancing the temperature. The scent of sweet, earthy pine trees filled his nose as he entered the more forested stretch of the drive. If he wasn’t driving, Zoe would have wanted to snuggle into the cushioned seat, close his eyes, and purely enjoy this serenity; though this wasn’t much of a downgrade. It was almost as good.

By the time he got to the motel, the sky was an indigo tinted purple, the final minutes of a sunset reaching out its fingers into the night. Zoe parked the Outback in the small, gravel lot and headed inside with his bags. The woman at the front desk handed him a room key with his payment and he made his way over to it. 

“35..” Zoe said under his breath as he unlocked the door, “At least it’s a lucky number, how does she look?” He creaked open the old wooden door, not at all like the smooth, sanded ones in his apartment. Inside was a small bed, covered with a thin layer of cream coloured blankets. There was not a window, just a small, cracked lamp on a wobbly, scratched up table. The floor was a dark blue carpet with golden swirls and red dots. Lovely. The air smelled off, stagnant almost, like a stuffy old room. Which, it was. Zoe flicked on the lamp and cautiously sat down on the bed. It creaked. The soft, golden light filtering through the room flickered with the old wires and smelled a bit hot, but in a way it was calming. In a weird, twisted way, it felt like home. The small, cramped space and old electrical mixed with stale air triggered a sense of belonging. It was in fact, nostalgic. 

Zoe pulled himself out of the haze of half-memories and turned to look down at the covers below him. They were wrinkled and an off-white color, sloppily tucked into the sides of the bed, but they were clean. In the forest where he grew up, they all learned early on how to tell if something was just old, or if it was dirty/dangerous. This bed was okay. He nimbly hopped off it and checked the lock on the door. It wasn’t very strong, so he pulled the rickety chair next to the table over and propped it up under the handle just in case. Then, satisfied with his makeshift fix, Zoe walked over to the bed and loosened the covers, checking under them. Still clean. He didn’t bother changing clothes since he would be up in a few hours anyway, crawling onto the mattress and tucking himself in. Today was a good day. Maybe that shot of good luck would help tomorrow be a good day too. Zoe clicked off the light. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I really don't know if more than like 2 people are actually reading this, but if you are, thank you! If you read the previous note, you know I accidentally hit myself in the face with a hammer. Somehow, I'm completely fine and it didn't even bruise! In a weird way, I'm sort of disappointed it didn't bruise. I mean, I shouldn't wish to be injured, but if I'm going to get hurt I want something to show for it! Anyway, This chapter was originally going to be the first one. I know, weird. I'm glad I decided to go back and flesh out the story before this point in it, because for the rest of the story to make sense, background was needed. I can't believe I was going to skip it and just put a prologue! Well, that's it for now. Toodles!


	7. Liftoff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, but its leading up to whats coming. I have a problem that's called 'I really should write, but I'm just going to ignore that and keep scrolling tumbr where the people I follow are doing literally the same thing but none of us are actually being productive.'  
> -NOTE-   
> I just realized the character named "Kyle" wasn't really called that. His name is Kevin, I made a typo that turned into many many typos. Oops. I'm going to fix that now. If I call him Kyle in the future, I mean Kevin, there is no Kyle in this story.

Zoe woke to the sound of a plane roaring overhead. He groaned, prying his head up and fumbling around to find his phone. He squinted at it’s blinding light, trying to make out the numbers on the screen. It read 2:47 AM. The shot of luck had not transferred over to today. 

“Shit,” He pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes, “flight’s boarding in 2 hours.” He pulled back the covers and stumbled out of bed, tripping on his shoes and yelping as he fell, a leg whacking the bedframe with a solid thud. His knee pulsed with the pain that he knew was going to bruise soon. Zoe clambered up and quickly threw on his shoes, the laces stinging his hand where he had pulled them too fast. He grabbed his suitcase and bag and dragged the chair away from the door. Cursing, he fumbled with the lock in the dark. The smooth brass was sliding through his fingers, difficult to grasp, let alone wiggle through the off-placed blot loop. Eventually, it clanked unlocked and he tugged open the wood door. Zoe shrugged his jacket back on his shoulder, peeled paint from the door clinging to it in little curls, and lugged his bags out to his car. 

The sky was similar toned to the night before, just a bit lighter with a hint of pink on the horizon. Bumbles clicked open with a beep of the key and Zoe slid into the driver's seat. He popped the trunk and threw his bags in, little bits of gravel flying from the wheels. He ran around to the drivers side again and hopped in, slamming the door behind him. Zoe’s breath puffed in the crisp air, and he finally noticed that it was cold outside. He rubbed his palms together, an unsuccessful attempt to warm up, and turned the key in the ignition. She rumbled to a start and the clock on the dash read 2:59.  _ The clock’s 4 minutes fast, you're fine. Everything is FINE!  _

Zoe yawned as he quickly pulled out of the parking spot.  _ There better be a Starbucks in the terminal.  _ The drive to the airport was uneventful, which was good since he was cutting it a bit close on time. The bag counter and security went well. Takeoff was at 5:15, but he had to be at the gate by 4:45. It was in the C wing, so he could get there in 10 minutes. Zoe had just arrived at a Starbucks, but it had a very long line filled with grumpy, caffeine needing people. Seeing as it was now 4:28, there was definitely not time for a coffee stop. Grumbling in frustration, Zoe stalked off towards the gate. 

Time both dragged on and flew by as he stood in line to get on the plane. Even though this trip was going to be hard, Zoe was excited for a few things. No matter how bad most of his family was, Zoe knew he could count on his cousin Kevin. Kevin was the sweetest, most caring person he knew. He was three years older than Zoe. Kevin was always by his side, would never throw him under the bus, was always there for him no matter how hard it got, and actually understood him. Kevin knew what it was like to have a secret that was as important as your life. He knew what it was like to be afraid of who you are. He knew what it was like to be forbidden to be who he really was. Kevin was gay, and in his family, that was a sin worse than murder. He was in love with Nathan, the boy down the street who loved him back. They were always careful to never let anyone see them together. As they became more serious, they decided to break it off. After all, maybe when they got out of the hell hole of Sierwson, they could be happy. Maybe in the future, they could live in a world that wouldn’t kill them for loving who they love. The month after deciding to not see eachother anymore was the worst month of Kevin’s life. There were many nights where Zoe would sit with him in the treetops while he sobbed. The treetops were their safe space, the only place in Sierwson where Zoe and Kevin could talk openly; quietly, but openly. They still had to be careful to make sure they were well out of earshot of the elves with the best hearing and that no shimmers followed them. 

One thing that humans used to think about all elves was that they were naturally amazing climbers, but that was not true. There were only a few who truly put in the work to be nimble and undetected in the trees, and both Kevin and Zoe had done that. At first, it had only been Kevin. Then, when he was 8, Zoe decided to take after him and learn to climb better than anyone. It had taken tons of work and practice, sprained limbs and cuts and scrapes, but in the end, the two became way better climbers than anyone else in the tribe. They would escape their abusive families on the worst nights and go to the trees. It was through trauma that Kevin and Zoe became such close friends. They were cousins, but they could rely on one another. 

When he was 13, Zoe told Kevin about being trans. He had reacted kindly, with support, but also with fear. He knew the risks, and so even though it hurt them both, Kevin helped Zoe hide. Kevin helped him stay true to himself while teaching him how to act like a girl. He was an incredible actor, and he taught Zoe how to survive in a world where danger was hidden in plain sight. He helped Zoe believe that it would get better. He just had to make it out, go to college. Then he would be free. Then he could escape. Kevin helped Zoe get jobs, he coached him on how to save money, he even taught Zoe how to drive. 

Boarding the plane went smoothly. Zoe had gotten the window seat. There was a nice looking Dryad in the middle seat and an annoyed looking Kitsune chewing cinnamon gum sitting down in the isle one. The dryad had wavy dark brown hair slicked back in a tight ponytail. She looked like she would be a 5th grade camp counselor who was there to actually make sure the kids were having fun, not just for the pay. The Kitsune on the other hand looked like she would rather be anywhere else. Her dark red hair was in two long braids. Her fox-like ears were pointed back and her eyes were slit in annoyance. Part of that was probably due to the plane seats not being accommodating for tails in general, so she had to have the three of them uncomfortably curled to either side of her. 

As the flight attendants were going through the safety briefing in case of a crash, Zoe settled in for the long flight ahead. As the ground receded below him and the sunrise lost most of its colour, he laid his head back and closed his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, idk what's wrong with me, I just stare at the page for 20 minutes retyping a couple sentences over and over and not getting anywhere. Then I hit a day where BAM! Inspiration, where I end up writing basically the whole chapter in one afternoon and post it that evening. That's what 80% of the chapters have been tbh, but I guess it's turned out okay so far so,,,, I'll keep doing that I guess? Sorry there's no Jess pov in this one, but she'll be in the next one. See ya sometime in the future if the world doesn't end before then!


	8. Ice-cream and Cheesecake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess is depressed, Zoe has conflicting feelings about thanksgiving.

The day had been long. The specific smell that only planes carry, a smell of dull air, tainted and stale had kept him from sleep. The kind of air that’s run through a few too many air vents and then was mixed with dust and stale food always kept Zoe inches away from the comfortable blackness. A few hours, an unfinished movie, and no sleep later, he stepped off the plane and into the airport. The smell of airports was unique. It was almost indescribable, but timeless at the same time. It could be 3 in the afternoon, or 5 in the morning, and the only difference would be a small percentage of the starbucks line. 

Time was a funny thing. People all over the world have different times on their watches and in their homes, but we all experience the same moment at once. For some, that moment might be the happiest in their life, for others it’s the saddest. For some, it's the beginning of everything, and for others it’s the end. Time zones are different everywhere in the world, and yet everyone shares each second with each other. Living and breathing as one.  _ Jessica. I wonder what she’s doing right now. _

…

For Jessica Mory Yorma, time did not fly by. It drug on. For her, the sun couldn’t set fast enough. She glared at the sky, still bright blue with it’s midday sun. Usually, Jess didn’t use her shifting to change her appearance. Because when everything was normal and fine, when she had Zoe around, she could comfortably be herself. But now? With him on a plane, flying hundreds of miles away from her, further away each second? Jess hadn’t felt this alone in a long time. She was tired, and angry at the world for letting her screw this up. Angry at Zoe for not giving her a chance to explain. Angry at herself for not being sober that night. But Jess was most angry at her own stupidity. She knew it was dangerous to drink and ride, even with the sobriety pills. Which she didn’t have any more of now. Angry at herself for scaring Zoe so bad, for scaring herself, for having possibly died that night. And Jessica knew that after the anger came the sadness. Not just a bad day kind of sadness. No. The sadness that resurfaced after feeling so mad at herself and others was deeper. Darker. Claustrophobic. When Jessica’s depression seeped back into her bones, it drug her down too. 

Jessica used her ice shifting to put on a happy face. Literally. The face she painted over her own had brighter eyes, a genuine smile, emotion at its core. Her hair was recently washed, smooth, and unknotted. Her lipstick and eyeliner wasn’t smudged wildly, and her outfit was fresh. At least, that’s what other people saw. But wearing a costume isn’t all that needed for a convincing performance. Jessica’s acting skills portrayed another her perfectly, too perfectly. No one could tell she was slipping into an invisible shell. No one saw through her disguise. 

Everyone thought she was fine. It didn’t even cross their minds.  _ Zoe always knew though.  _ The thought whispered in her mind, rubbing salt in wounds no one else could see.  _ He’s gone. He doesn’t care. Or well, maybe he does, but not the way I care for him. He wouldn’t even go with you on that trip you were planning.  _ Realistically, Jess knew that he had been forced to fly back to Sierwson, but the realistic part of her brain was outnumbered.  _ Even if he hadn’t gone, Zoe wouldn’t want anything to do with you. He wouldn't want to go on your stupid roadtrip to the coast. You won’t ever get to show him your favorite spots or the beaches, or go for underwater scuba tours with mermaids. You won’t get to badly sing along to your favorite songs on the radio as you drive across winding roads. You won’t get to go biking and rock climbing or have picnics on your favorite cliff overlooking the ocean. You won’t get to do anything you want to with Zoe because he hates you. Best case scenario, you stay friends and you occasionally eat lunch or study together. Worst case, he will never look you in the eye again, and will pointedly avoid you at all costs. Worst case is more likely.  _ She gasped, appearance glitching. 

Jessica stumbled over nothing, completely losing control of her disguise and crumbling to the sidewalk in a breathless heap, sobs wracking her body. Passerby stared for a second, then went on with their lives. It was normal to see someone breaking down on campus.  _ Again. No one cares. The one person who did care certainly doesn’t anymore. This is your fault. If you hadn’t gone and seen him at the diner, you and Zoe would be fine. Maybe even better than fine. Because then you could have thought out what the fuck you were going to say, not just crash into him, shattering all the plates and his heart all at once because you’re fucking stupid! Now no one cares about you! Not your family who was always kind to you, but never saw your talent. Not your classmates who bury themselves in mountains of homework. Not your roommate who can’t see what you're feeling. Not even Zoe, who you care for more than anything else in the world. He hates you now. I bet you haven't even crossed his mind.  _

…

Zoe did not have Jess on his mind at that moment. In that moment, he had a blinding smile on his face. One hand was wrapped around his suitcase, and the other around his favorite cousin. They wore matching faces, each with eyes crinkled and paired grins. Kevin’s chestnut hair was tied back in it’s signature loose topknot with the sides and back shaven. He blew a couple unruly strands out of his face as they parted from the hug. 

“It’s so good to see you man! You’re looking good.” Kevin said, and Zoe’s smile somehow grew even bigger. 

“It’s so good to see you too, how have you been?” Zoe replied, feeling like he was glowing. It was really nice to see a familiar face that wasn’t tainted by abuse, one that helped him stay alive. One that he loved, and that loved him for him. Kevin was one of his only family members who treated him like a person and not just a pawn. Kevin sighed.

“Oh, you know how it is. Secrets to survive right? But I’m doing better than I could be, so I guess that’s good. How about you, you look happy?” His smile stayed, but his eyes changed.

“Ah, I’m sorry about that. I’ve been doing pretty great! School has been a relief I thought I could never have, but here I am. I feel like myself, but I’m kinda worried about this” Zoe said, pointing at his head, as they started toward the exit. Kevin looked happy for him, but winced at the last bit.

“Yeah, that might not be the best.”

“The plan is to say I cut it to support my friend Kate who’s going through chemo.” Kevin’s face turned worried and somber. 

“Oh! Don’t worry! She doesn’t actually have cancer and she’s not undergoing chemo! Kate’s just my cover story.” He explained quickly. Kevin’s expression lightened again, relieved that his cousin’s friend wasn’t actually in danger. 

“She is real though? In case they want to know more about her?” Kevin asked, apprehensive. 

“Yeah! She’s my roommate, the college doesn’t know about all this,” Zoe referred to himself, “I’m still in the girls dorms. We’re good friends too, so I know a lot about her. I think I’ll be okay.” 

“Okay good. I hope they buy it. You’re a good actor, so they probably will.” 

On the way out, Zoe stopped in the restroom to change into tribe acceptable clothes. Aka, back into the closet. Out of the binder, out of the loose jeans, out of the unfitted hoodie, adding a headband, and more. When he came out, Kevin ‘s face darkened. Now that Zoe was dressed in a maroon pleated skirt, heeled sandals, a black v-neck, and short jean jacket, he looked nothing like he did minutes ago. Both of them hated it, but acted like nothing was wrong. 

“At least they won’t suspect anything. They won’t be happy about the hair, but I look like the girl I have to be now.” Zoe said in a faked lighthearted tone. 

Soon, Zoe slipped back into his well practiced act. They were driving through the oak trees, about 20 minutes away from Sierwson. The air was hot and sticky with humidity, feeling nothing like the autumn shown on the trees. Hundreds of miles away, someone else was also pretending to be okay.

...

Jessica was curled up in a ball in the corner, Green Day blasting in her earbuds and a melting, half eaten container of rocky road an arm’s length away. Her roommate Sammy had found her splayed on the sidewalk, hauling her into her car and driving her home. Samantha always tried her best to make Jessica feel better when she was like this, but even though she tried, nothing really helped. The only way for Jess to feel better was to drag herself out of the pit of despair. It took time, but eventually she could do it. But that wasn’t today. She was deep in the pit today. Jessica’s mind wasn’t racing though. It was the opposite. She felt floating, distant, but also like she was sinking. The truth is, people like her don’t blast music to drown out an overactive mind; they do it to block out the creeping and tar like emptiness. To fill the void of consciousness that should be sleep. Because now, as the light had started to dim at 5:15, the darkness that replaced it seeped into her bones. It was going to be a long night. 

...

Halfway across the country, Zoe was awkwardly hugging relatives, also having a long night. There, it was already 8:15. He was staying at his parent’s house in his old room. The room he simultaneously loved and hated. People had been arriving all evening, so he had been able to blend in fairly well. His aunts were the ones talking a lot, so he was able to slip away with Kevin to the dessert table in the other room. 

“You doing okay?” He asked as he picked up a cheesecake bite. 

“Yeah. The Aunties are talking, so hopefully the attention won’t be on me for a while.” Zoe responded. Zoe was confident in his acting. After all, he had been doing it all his life. If push came to shove, he could improvise. How long could he keep it up after tasting freedom? Zoe knew he had to make it through the week perfectly to survive. He had done this for years, what could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. Ok. Yep. It's been a while, but honestly, I've been frickin exhausted. Online school is bad. It really is. I've got 3-4 50 minute zoom calls daily, well, not the weekend or Wednesdays. Now it's not even Zoom anymore, some stupid people logged on and said some stupid stuff and now everyone's forced to use google meets, which makes my computer overheat, lag like crazy even though it's less than a year old, and the fan kicks on high speed. It sucks. There's no lunch break, it starts at 11 and ends at 3, then I've got at least an hour sometimes 3 of online homework. That alone is 7+ hours of screentime, then add texting and social media (that I technically don't need and probably spend too much time on, but it was fine before). By 4 o clock, I just want to take a nap, but I can't because my eyes hurt. I want to write, but again, that's on a screen. I can't read because my eyes hurt too, so I do nothing and feel awful. >:(((((  
> Anyway, this chapter jumps around a lot, and the next one will be set a few days later in the timeline. See you then. Sorry for not posting for a while.


	9. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets a little dark, sorry. There may or may not be a cliffhanger too

Oh where to start? What happened over the course of the last few seconds had turned Zoe’s life upside down. One minute, he was perfectly fine; well, as perfectly fine as one could be while pretending to be someone they’re not for 5 days straight (no pun intended). So far, he was still safe, no one but Kevin knew, and he was acting exactly how he was supposed to act. The unnerving thing was that it came so easily. Within a day, Zoe had acclimated back into his routine of faking happiness and a different identity. He found himself sitting, standing, and even talking differently without even realizing it. Faking for so long had ingrained this other person into his identity that he could hide as. And it was a good thing in that moment. 

The words washed over his ears like he was underwater. The blows nearly knocked him down. His mom and her sister’s excited voices slowly came back into focus as Zoe realized he needed to hear the rest of it and act the best he had in his entire life. 

“..And they accepted! Can you believe it? One of the old world covens wants an alliance with us! With you!” His mom continued, clapping her hands. 

Zoe pulled his face out of it’s expression of pure shock and into one of excitement and happiness. He hoped like hell it was convincing. 

“No, I can’t believe it! Wow!” Zoe breathed, it was all he was able to get out. It was all he could do to keep his mind from filling with foggy dred. No, more than dread, something worse than that added on to the terror. 

“Aaaand we’ve already set the date! We know how well you two got along back in your senior year, and because the Connel family was so eager to form this generous marriage alliance, we couldn’t help but say yes to the date. This is too good of an opportunity for our family and tribe to risk seeming uneasy about the deal. The 9th of December is when we agreed to! I’m so happy for you!” Aunt Carol added enthusiastically. It was clear that this surprise was meant to be a happy one. It was not. Fortunately, his false grin was not a visible grimace. 

“Just a minute.” He choked, almost staggering out of the tiny room. The world seemed to lurch from second to second, Zoe not knowing how he got from the living room to the porch to the base then halfway up a tree. 

The rough bark scratched his hands, the clauses fading from lack of use. Zoe didn’t notice. He didn’t notice the eerie silence of the forest caused by the blood pounding in his ears, turning them a purplish color dimmed in the moonlight. He didn’t notice the scrapes of bark far below him. When he reached a height that probably wasn’t the best where the limbs shrunk in size and the top grew near, Zoe half collapsed onto one of the larger ones. It wasn’t until he noticed things, until his brain resurfaced from its fuzziness, that he realized his face was slick with tears. Smears of blood darkened streaks of his face that he couldn’t see, his hands tingling weirdly. Eventually he realized what had just happened. _Holy fuck._ Zoe couldn’t hold back the shudders of sobs. He covered his mouth with one hand, holding onto the tree with his other in order to not fall. The way his hands leaked onto his face made Zoe look like the vampire he was going to marry in two weeks from that very day. Zoe whipped around at the sound of a twig snapping. He was not alone. 

… 

Jessica was also not feeling the best. You know, the whole thing she had been doing for about a week now where she would only go to half her classes, ignoring her phone, drinking too much coffee and not even bothering to hide her growing eye bags and unwashed hair with a glamour? Yeah. She was in the middle of wallowing in self pity when Sammy had had enough. Jess flinched and groaned when she flung open the curtains keeping the glaring sunlight out. It flooded the room with light. 

“I don’t think your plants are happy with you right now,” She pointed the the wilting and un-watered ones potted near the window, “ and frankly, neither am I. You need to get the fuck out of bed.” Jessica glared at her, sinking deeper into the covers. 

Sam let out an exasperated sigh and walked out of the room. _Thats’s weird, normally she tries harder than that._ Jessica thought, turning away from the door. Seemingly out of nowhere, a sheet of ice cold water slapped her in the face. Jess gasped and scrambled to sit up, like any normal person would do.

“What the fuck was that for??” Jess said, glitching back to a normal shape. Sam smirked and threw more freezing water on her and walked away. Jessica sat there, stunned and drenched, then hopped up and chased her, slipping and tumbling on the ground. Wincing then growling, Jess got up and ran after Sammy, who had darted into the kitchen and was nearing the apartment door. Still soaking wet with a black tee shirt sticking to her, soggy jeans and of course, her boots already on, she raced down the stairs. Her half asleep, jelly like legs were still faster than Sammy’s, but that didn’t really matter. Sam sat on the curb outside, a mixed expression on her face. After all, she had just gotten Jess out of bed, awake, and outside. 

“What the fuck was it for? Oh I don’t know. You have class, you haven’t eaten in 2 days, haven’t moved since last night, haven’t had a shower in 4 days, and somehow you’re even more pale than usual.” Sam snapped, concern in her eyes. “Not to mention you haven’t talked to Zoe in forever. He doesn't hate you dammit. You two care too much about each other to do this! How do you think he feels right now? You really think he doesn't miss you too? You need to call him.”

“He won’t pick up. I know he won’t.” Jess shot back, “How would you know? You haven’t talked to him either.”

“No, I haven’t talked to him, but neither have you. You didn’t answer my question, Jessica.”

“How do I think he feels? Fucking perfect. He loves being with his cousins, and as much as he hates the rest of his family, he misses his home. He misses the trees, Samantha. Why wouldn’t he be happy without me?” 

“Oh. You’re playing that card now? He loves you! Do you not see how he looks at you? How can you think he doesn’t care? Do you think he would want you to be like this?” Sam yelled, motioning at Jess. She didn’t have a reply for once. _Does he really feel like that? D-does he feel the same way?_ _Am I not alone?_

… 

_Oh fuck. What if someone knows?_ Zoe scrambled into a crouching position, ears pricked and eyes straining in the dark to see anyone there. 

“Zoe?! Are you oka- oh god.” Said the only voice in Sierwson that didn’t scare him. Kevin. Zoe heaved a sigh of relief as Kevin climbed up to a branch next to him. “What happened, Zoe, oh my god is that blood?”

“What? Oh, I guess it is.” Zoe croaked, looking down at the dark red on his hands. “Mom a- *sniff* Auntie Carol ol set marrige mmmma *sob* Conne- vv- vampires, VAMPIRES KEvin!” Zoe choked out between sobs. Kevin reached over, holding his hand and wiping tears off his face. It was a losing battle. His face shifted, trying to translate the gibberish, and then it hit him. 

“Shhhhh.. Hey, I’m here, you- they, you’re getting married? To one of the Connel? It- it’s Amari isn’t it. Oh god, I’m so sorry. Is there any way out of it?” Zoe shook his head. 

Once parents had agreed on the arranged marriages, there was no going back, especially with alliances. Refusing could mean an all out war between the tribe and the coven, and Sierwson didn’t have much of a defense system. It was a battle they would almost definitely lose, partially due to the lack of knowledge. The covens were very secretive, not letting other creatures know much about them, humans included. 

Although, contrary to popular belief, not all of them were pale. Yes, they had fangs, yes, most had garlic allergies, and yes, they drank blood, but the whole thing about them sleeping in coffins and not being able to go out in the sun or be around crosses, those were more on the myth side. There were exceptions. In order to avoid humans, some did odd things to go into hiding. Those were the ones that were found by thrill chasers looking for spooky creatures, and thus the coffin, crosses, and paleness myths were born. Not all vampires were goth, most of them are surfers and divers over in California. Being undead made a lot of them outdoorsy explorer types who did crazy shit because no one really knew how they could die, and drowning apparently wasn’t one of them. Zoe remembered that Jess had told him about her friend Chelsey, she lived underwater with her wife, who was a shark-mermaid. 

But the Connel coven was traditional. They were one of the old world covens who didn’t really change with the times. They still drank human blood when they could find an abandoned red cross “food pantry”. But now that there weren't any more humans, the blood was precious and only drank sparingly. At least, that’s what Amari had told him. Amari was creepy, he was like, the most stereotypical vampire ever. Long black hair, dressed hella emo and old school, pale as fuck, wore eyeliner, and spoke with a made up accent literally no one else had. Thankfully, he had ditched the cape. That was a little overkill. He had even worn red contacts. Literally what was the point of them? 

They also had very similar ideas to his tribe, so it made perfect sense for the alliance, and his family really needed the money. Back in the olden days, the Sierwson tribe was rich, but not anymore. The world had changed, and they hadn’t changed with it. People were sold off, marrying people they didn’t want to; all of it starting because the attractive girls were told to put themselves out there, flirting, to try and woo a prince. Amari was one of the few left, and he was very picky. Other people would say Zoe was lucky to be chased by the guy, but it just made him feel sick. Zoe was not the type of person that tries to flirt with anything that moves, in fact quite the opposite. Zoe had never really had more than a mild crush on anyone. Well, at least before he met Jessica. The way he liked Jessica was so different than anything he had ever felt before, and so he didn’t know that he was falling in love. 

At first, they were just really great friends. The two had clicked, although they hadn’t realized to what extent. They had grown closer and closer, confiding in each other things they never thought they would tell anyone. Over time, the feelings shifted. It was like there was a whole other layer now. Jess and Zoe were not just friends anymore, they just hadn’t realized. 

Zoe’s phone rang. He picked it up, not quite catching the contact name as he answered it.

“Hello?” 

Zoe sobbed into the phone for a few reasons. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like that ending? Dying to know what happens? Hopefully but probably not lol. Sorry if this chapter is trash, I kinda wrote it all in like 2 sittings a few weeks apart, and its not very edited, like, at all. More will be coming soon, I know I say that and then not post, but my inspiration isn't gone yet in this writing blip, so I'll probably get part of the next chapter done immediately after posting this lol. skbjfjnfdmkl  
> I'm fine. There's an asteroid headed for earth supposed to hit tomorrow, and then election day is Tuesday, so that's a thing. Kinda sucks to be in the US right now tbh, I wish I could be up in BC at my grandma's.


End file.
